Call of Duty: World at War is a
first-person shooter video game developed by
Treyarch and published by Activision for
PC,
PlayStation 3,
Wii, and
Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the
Call of Duty series and returns the setting to
World War II. The game was released in
North America on November 11, 2008, and in
Europe on November 14, 2008. A
Windows Mobile version was also made available by
Glu Mobile and different storyline versions for the
Nintendo DS and
PlayStation 2 were also produced, but remain in the World War II setting. The game is based on an
enhanced version of the
Call of Duty 4 game engine developed by
Infinity Ward with increased development on audio and visual effects.
The narrative for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 versions focuses on the
Pacific and
Eastern Front theatres of World War II, involving the
United States, the
Empire of Japan, the
Soviet Union, and
Nazi Germany. It is told from the perspectives of
Marine Raider Private C. Miller, US Navy Petty Officer Locke and
Red Army soldier Private Dimitri Petrenko and is based on several historical battles. The
multiplayer component of the game contains various game modes and a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons and rewards as they progress, similar to
Call of Duty 4. The game also contains downloadable content called "map packs", which can be purchased online. A new feature to the series was the addition of a
cooperative mode, which supports up to two players locally and four players online.
The game was the first best-selling game for November 2010 in the United States, selling over 1.41 million units. In the UK, it sold twice as many units as
Call of Duty 4 in its first week after release, becoming the third fastest-selling video game. It received positive reviews, with praise for its portrayal of the gritty, dark side of war and multiple game modes. However, it was criticized for not building on the success of
Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare.
Call of Duty: World at War currently holds an 85% aggregate score on
GameRankings and
Metacritic.